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first off, i've shaped my own boards (and many for friends) since i was 14. my first job was laminating/hotcoating/sanding at a glass shop. i have several family members who have done nothing else for most of they're adult life. so yes, im a little biased from that standpoint. but, arguing that 'someone else would have bought it' is a joke. feeling self-righteous because you helped the shop owner on the back-end is self-serving. you took a sh!t on US workers and are righteous because you wiped with US toilet paper? oh, way to hide behind your wife. the shop's profit margin is slim on boards anyhow. im willing to bet the guy makes his $ off t-shirts and other cool, surfer dude crap. i wouldn't give some shop stocked with GSI my $. who's side are you on. i bet anything that you wouldn't argue this crap at a domestic board company in person. your arguments suggest your a mindlessly consuming, save-a-buck cheap stake. besides, what does a SUP kook have to say about surfing anyhow? i can just see that forehead, strapon you wear flapping around right now! LOL sorry for the low blows, but like i said, who's side are you on? you a walmart manager?
I support US workers and US made products.

I asked if you were a shaper not out of sarcasm, but out of geniune interest ya d*ck, you can take your "low blows" and suck it. As for hiding behind my wife, I have done no such thing, just stating the fact so that the story is authentic. Look, i'm really proud of you for learning how to shape because others in your family have done so, way to be original btw.

Hey listen, since your such a good shaper, think maybe I can buy one of your boards. Got a label any of us might know or regognize, who the F are you in other words, oh that's right, another back yard hack trying assume the identity of someone who actually matters. I'll put you right up there with Steve83 from South Carolina, who wears batwoman webbed gloves and can't catch a wave on his wooden banana boat he built with the inspiration of Roy Stuart himself.

As for the SUP comment, I know plenty about surfing ya hack, I did it looooong before I got an SUP as a gift, yep, another gift, someone must think pretty highly of me. Glad we had this talk though, you seem super chill and would love to burn one with ya some time...

I asked if you were a shaper not out of sarcasm, but out of geniune interest ya d*ck, you can take your "low blows" and suck it. As for hiding behind my wife, I have done no such thing, just stating the fact so that the story is authentic. Look, i'm really proud of you for learning how to shape because others in your family have done so, way to be original btw.

Hey listen, since your such a good shaper, think maybe I can buy one of your boards. Got a label any of us might know or regognize, who the F are you in other words, oh that's right, another back yard hack trying assume the identity of someone who actually matters. I'll put you right up there with Steve83 from South Carolina, who wears batwoman webbed gloves and can't catch a wave on his wooden banana boat he built with the inspiration of Roy Stuart himself.

As for the SUP comment, I know plenty about surfing ya hack, I did it looooong before I got an SUP as a gift, yep, another gift, someone must think pretty higly of me. Glad we had this talk though, you seem super chill and would love to burn one with ya some time...

can you read? i clearly said i shape for myself and friends. backyard hack? lol. i do something useful for society. USCG, so no surfboard 'label'. and learning to shape because other in my family have done so?? hahaha. they all glass and sand. other then that there's scrubbing and 'shaping' low tolerence blanks, too easy. anyone who laminates or sands can shape, although most shapes can't glass or sand. so i agree, not to unique. most shapers don't even know how/where to place fins! i started because i was poor and already working in a building with shaping rooms. besides, this is a topic about GSI ya kook. why do you care what i do? buying cheap sh!t made overseas at the demise of US craftsman is shameless. why don't you move to china or thailand since they produce better/cheaper stuff. can you even remember what you did with your GSI savings? musta been important

shows what your wife thinks of you if she'd give you something as gay as a SUP. were you a kayaker too? i bet it has a justin bieber airbrush on it!

all you know about surfing is what you read while taking a sh!t! funny...

can you read? i clearly said i shape for myself and friends. backyard hack? lol. i do something useful for society. USCG, so no surfboard 'label'. and learning to shape because other in my family have done so?? hahaha. they all glass and sand. other then that there's scrubbing and 'shaping' low tolerence blanks, too easy. i agree, not unique either. i started because i was poor and already working in a building with shaping rooms. besides, this is a topic about GSI ya kook. why do you care what i do? buying cheap sh!t made overseas at the demise of US craftsman is shameless. why don't you move to china or thailand since they produce better/cheaper stuff.

shows what your wife thinks of you if she'd give you something as gay as a SUP. were you a kayaker too? i bet it has a justin bieber airbrush on it!

all you know about surfing is what you read while taking a sh!t! funny...

So you're my huckleberry huh, i'm honored. Throwing around the term kook and the obvious SUP insults only makes you look like an ass.

As you said yourself, "Why do you care what I do"? Heed your own advise ya jaggof

2. "Don't ride boards not built by surfers". This is always an interesting debate. One of the biggest suppliers of PU foam to the US is Artic Foam. These blanks are ridden by a high number of the surfers on the WCT. Their blanks are made in Mexico. This doesn't mean they are inferior to a blank made in the US or Australia. Same deal with Fiberglass. Korea has some of the latest and high tech fiber weaving machines in the world. Their cloth is flatter and tighter than many other suppliers on the market and is amazing to use in manufacturing which results in boards being lighter and stronger. The staff at Cobra in Thailand don't only build surfboards. They also build carbon fiber parts for Ferrari, Audi and other high end car manufacturers. The reason why they build these parts is that the Thai people have a great attention to detail and have been skilled in the art of detailed sculptures for thousands of years. Their skills translate to the surfboard very well, and if shown correctly they can replicate the production techniques required to build a surfboard very well. I spent 9 months at least to setup my production line at Cobra in Thailand. I personally trained the staff there on how to build the FutureFlex technology and PE technology using my own set of materials shipped into Thailand, and got to know them personally. I feel that today they replicate my boards as good as anyone out there building surfboards. This is a great thing for Haydenshapes as we are able to supply the same quality shape and construction to over 72 countries worldwide.

Thanks for taking the time to respond here. Your info is much appreciated. Just ignore the internet tough guys

There was a similar argument in the mountain bike world a few years back. A Canadian custom freeride bike builder wanted to expand his line. He looked at many factories on this side of the Pacific to make his bike frames. He also looked into some of the Asian factories and found that they are currently expanding their manufacturing capabilities therefore have newer equipment that can spit out bike frames with closer tolerances and better welds. Stateside and Canadian factories had older technology and couldn't provide a better product without significant increases in cost.

These guys huck themselves off +30' cliffs so build quality is extremely important so you don't die. He got a lot of flack for going overseas but in the end they could provide a better product. Labor costs were a side benefit that resulted in a better price as well.

I agree we should all try to support local businesses when we can but the reality is global commerce is here to stay unless we have another knock down, drag out world war.

dawnpatrolSUP, you argue weak! stay on topic if you have to resort to heckling. your letting me down so far, i expected better from you.

Sorry I let you down AtlanticO, my intent was never to argue with anybody but to only speak from experience what i've found regarding GIS, which is what this post is about. Hayden weighed in on the topic and nobody on this forum is more qualified than him i'd say, except maybe another shaper as good as him that lurks behind a screename, and I will listen to what he says regarding the topic before I will some guy who "shapes" boards for himself and his friends. There was no "heckling", and you are too sensitive if you think that.

Sorry I let you down AtlanticO, my intent was never to argue with anybody but to only speak from experience what i've found regarding GIS, which is what this post is about. Hayden weighed in on the topic and nobody on this forum is more qualified than him i'd say, except maybe another shaper as good as him that lurks behind a screename, and I will listen to what he says regarding the topic before I will some guy who "shapes" boards for himself and his friends. There was no "heckling", and you are too sensitive if you think that.

yeah, a businessman is not gonna not defend his oversea's produced, duty-free products. he just scrubs computer shapes anyhow. all marketing hype from what i can see. why don't you ask non-GSI related shapers what they think? your obviously not very connected to your local surf community (or anything) if you feel so strongly in favor of buying GSI.

and goosemagoo, labor/material costs are always forefront when a BUSINESS decides to go overseas. besides, this is surfboards we're talking about, not bicycles. is it your opinion that asian production factories put out a better product?

Sorry I let you down AtlanticO, my intent was never to argue with anybody but to only speak from experience what i've found regarding GIS, which is what this post is about. Hayden weighed in on the topic and nobody on this forum is more qualified than him i'd say, except maybe another shaper as good as him that lurks behind a screename, and I will listen to what he says regarding the topic before I will some guy who "shapes" boards for himself and his friends. There was no "heckling", and you are too sensitive if you think that.

i like a heckling sorry if it reads angry... not at all the case. your to easy anyhow. i wish PJB would come play! no shame in his game in my limited experience. i just like exclamation points and capitals. sorry im not PC enough. just saying you should try a little harder to stay on topic besides 'my wife made me do it' or 'someone else would have'

yeah, a businessman is not gonna not defend his oversea's produced, duty-free products. he just scrubs computer shapes anyhow. all marketing hype from what i can see. why don't you ask non-GSI related shapers what they think? your obviously not very connected to your local surf community (or anything) if you feel so strongly in favor of buying GSI.

You have a point, any person in business for themselves will try and make things sound good for the consumers, but I thought he was very honest about his approach, and I found nothing wrong with it.

Lastly, I never said i'm "strongly in favor of buying GSI", I only said that I own ONE, and it's a great board. See, I own and ride 4 different boards, Two of those are hand shaped by Mike Daniel right here in FL, the good ole US of A, one of them is a McTavish by way of GIS (would love to hear what you think about Mr. McTavish too), and the other is an SUP that was shaped / built in Texas, by another LOCAL company / shaper. So 3 out of 4 of my boards are products of the local shaper / business model, while only 1 of my boards is a GIS product.

i like a heckling sorry if it reads angry... not at all the case. your to easy anyhow. i wish PJB would come play! no shame in his game in my limited experience. i just like exclamation points and capitals. sorry im not PC enough. just saying you should try a little harder to stay on topic besides 'my wife made me do it' or 'someone else would have'

GSI is crap.

Nobody said anything about anger, not sure where you come up with that. PJB and I have "thrown down" before (out of fun), he's not such a bad guy, much more interesting to debate with than you (don't get all sappy on me PJB), and who said anyting about being PC? For god sakes, we have enough PC crap in the world, why would I want more? Staying on topic? Are you drunk? I'm too easy? You don't know the half of it...